New Industrial Development Reviewed by Town Council

The proposed development would be located just north and west of I-84 (diagonal) between Smoron Drive and Curtiss Street. GOOGLE SATELLITE IMAGE

The weekend snowstorm that affected wide swaths of the Northeast meant that the Southington Town Council meeting of Monday, January 26 had to be held remotely. But with all Council members present via Zoom, business proceeded as usual – and included the announcement of a major piece of economic development news.

The news came in an update delivered by Councillor Michael DelSanto on the Economic Development Strike Committee, which he chairs. At the sub-committee’s January 15 meeting, Town representatives heard preliminary details of an ambitious plan for a multi-use development in one of Southington’s last remaining industrial parcels. The land in question has proved difficult to develop due to the presence of transmission lines, wetlands, watercourses, and topographical challenges, DelSanto said.

The project, according to DelSanto, involves three separate parcels at 99 Smoron Drive, 115 Summit Farms Road, and 682 Curtiss Street, which together constitute about 114 acres just north of I-84. Part of the property is zoned I-2, for industrial purposes; the developer intends to seek a zone change on 35 acres near I-84 in order to make part of it into a retail area of some 150,000 square feet that would include a gas station and hotel.

Although DelSanto did not mention the developer’s name, the roughly 60-acre Smoron Drive property currently belongs to Technology Industrial Park, a business owned by local developers Mark Lovely and Jason Manafort. Former Council member Jack Perry was part of a group that purchased the Curtiss Street and Summit Farms properties in 2024, per reporting from the Hartford Business Journal.

A key aspect of the proposed project, DelSanto added, is infrastructure upgrades. These possible upgrades include a new road that would connect Smoron Court and Curtiss Street, as well as new sewer, water and gas lines. The value of these investments would be about $15 million, DelSanto reported, citing the project attorney.

In addition, consultant Don Poland, who attended the Strike Committeee meeting, estimated that tax revenues from 665,000 feet of new space would be about $2 million annually, along with $2.6 million in sewer use fees, $773,000 in building permit fees, and wage creation of approximately $11 million. The developers are reportedly not seeking tax abatements.

DelSanto was optimistic about the practical value of the new connector road, which he said could help take some traffic off West Street. The new road would be built by the developer and turned over the town.

The main purpose of the meeting with the Economic Strike committee, DelSanto said, was for the developer to better understand what the next steps should be to bring the project to fruition.

The Town Council did not take any action to approve or disapprove the project, which will have to gain Town staff approvals and the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission before moving forward.

Another sub-committee report, from the Apple Harvest Committee, covered some personnel changes as well as the news that the first of several musical acts who will appear at the annual event has been secured.

The three parcels in question abut I-84 and run from Curtiss (lower left) to Smoron (uppr right). GOOGLE STREET MAP IMAGE

New Town Attorney and Other Business

In what Council Chair Paul Chaplinsky, Jr. called a “formality,” the agenda order was amended in order to appoint a new Town Attorney and Assistant Town Attorney. This merely meant switching titles, not introducing new people, with former Assistant Town Attorney Louis Martocchio III, appointed earlier this term, moving into the lead role and his father Louis Martocchio II, taking the Assistant role. Councillor Chris Palmieri mentioned that “several residents” had reached out about tabling the moves until the next in-person meeting, but ultimately the Council unanimously approved the changes.

Although appointments to the Town’s several commissions and sub-committees had been somewhat contentious to begin the term, Dana Rickard and Kathy Rickard were appointed to the Southington Enterprise & Economic Development (SEED) Committee to fill one vacancy. Town Bylaws require one representative who is a “business owner,” but finding a quorum for meetings, as Palmieri pointed out, has proven difficult for this group. The new arrangement allows for one of the Rickards, who represent local business Compumail, to attend when possible. The Council voted unanimously to approve the compromise. There are still vacant spots that must be filled by a local resident who lives in the enterprise zone, and by a college student.

The Council also voted to appoint a sub-committee to oversee the construction of new roofs at three area elementary schools. This group will be responsible for keeping the construction compliant with state law governing the process, so that the town remains eligible to receive grants and reimbursements for the cost.

The Council approved several grant applications. One of these would request subvention from the Connecticut Department of Transportation for a new bus for Calendar House. Town Manager Alex Ricciardone advised a tempered optimism, since the grant process was “highly competitive.”

Another grant request was for new fiber installation. The request came to the Town from Frontier Wireless, which is seeking Southington’s support for a grant the company is pursuing. The Council chose to endorse a more “generic” letter of support for any company that might wish to pursue fiber network upgrades in town.

Board of Ed Honors Flanders Elementary Teacher, Reviews Ethics

Teacher Gretchen Yatzook with her award. PETER PROHASKA PHOTOS

The famous poem “In Flanders Fields” has long served to commemorate and honor those who lost their lives in war. A Flanders Elementary School teacher was acknowledged at the January 22 Southington Board of Education meeting for continuing to do that.

Gretchen Yatzook recently received the Citizen-Teacher of the Year Award for Connecticut. The accolade is given by Wheeler-Young VFW 201, which is based in Waterbury but serves veterans in several neighboring communities.

As Board Chair Zaya Oshana explained, the yearly award recognizes educators who teach “patriotism, American history and civic responsibility,” while innovating and including the broader community in those efforts. As part of the ceremony, the Board also presented Yatzook with a Certificate of Excellence.

Yatzook admitted that her “favorite” veteran is her father, who was in attendance. She also mentioned the long history of celebrating veterans at Flanders with a Veterans Day event and thanked some of the teachers and administrators who helped make the popular event possible.

“I know we have parents that have said it’s their favorite day at Flanders and they’re sad when they don’t get to come out anymore,” she said.

Southington Teachers’ Union President Jason Ghidini commented that Yatzook is incredibly deserving of the award. Besides her work on behalf of those who have served the nation, she is a “fierce defender of teachers, an amazing professional and a great person,” he said.

BOE Chair Oshana presents the award.

Ethics Presentation for the Board

The elected members of the Southington Board of Education are volunteers who take on a complex job as they help shape educational policy for Southington. Among the challenges they must navigate are limitations and duties imposed by Town bylaws, as well as state and federal laws.

Richard Mills, a partner at the law firm of Shipman and Goodwin who serves as counsel for the district, gave a presentation to help the Board better understand some of the more difficult challenges they may face.

Oshana mentioned that while many members would have seen a similar presentation in the past, each term faces challenges and new scenarios as laws and human factors change over time. He also said that while the presentation was ordinarily given to members at workshops, he felt that making it public would help ordinary citizens understand more about the Board and what members can and cannot do.

“I do believe there are some misperceptions and misinterpretations of where our Board of Education members roles, responsibilities, and levels of authority start and end, versus what the administration is responsible for,” said Oshana.

While Board members have their individual First Amendment rights, each member should always take care to differentiate his or her own opinion from a message from the Board as a whole, Mills explained.

Board members should also be careful to keep private matters private. The appearance of prejudice can jeopardize the impartiality that is due to an employee or student involved in hearings.

“If we don’t have a good process, we have legal exposure,” Mills cautioned.

Mills also explained that the Board has a strict duty to respect student confidentiality. Student privacy is covered by its bylaws as well as federal law, particularly FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Thus, meetings that involve sensitive personal information are often held in Executive Session and are not generally accessible to FOIA requests.

Mills stated that in the event of an expulsion hearing, for example, nothing learned inside such a hearing should ever be shared with the public, not even with a Board member who did not attend the hearing.

Another key takeaway from the presentation is that personnel matters and classroom issues that parents might bring to a Board member should then be brought to the Superintendent directly, Mills advised. The Superintendent is the only school employee who reports to the Board, he explained, and the Board is not the administrator for the district.

Mills also described the importance of ethical behavior by members, using the example of a transportation contract. A hypothetical Board member with a family member such as an in-law who was in a position to benefit from the contract should always disclose that relationship and most likely recuse himself from consideration. Transparency in spending public money is of the highest importance, Mills said.

*****

Finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for seniors at the high school: the Board moved unanimously to designate June 11 Graduation Day, with a rain date of June 12.

Southington Braces for Severe Winter Storm

Trucks at the Highway Department garage on Saturday. PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

With a storm bearing down on the area that could bring anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snow, town residents made their final preparations ahead of heavy snow expected to start falling Sunday morning.

At the Highway Department Garage on Della Bitta Drive just off Mulberry Street, the town’s 36 plow trucks were ready for deployment. Department employee Kevin Fields reported that the plan was for snowplow drivers to start preparing the trucks at 8:30am on Sunday. The Southington Police Department has announced that a Street Parking Ban will go into effect Sunday at 10am to make it easier and safer for crews to plow.

The Highway Department has more than enough sand to lay down on roads. However its supply of salt, which is mixed with sand to melt ice, is getting low. According to Fields, the supply was depleted by a series of sleet storms and freezes earlier this season. In addition, a nationwide shortage of road salt has affected municipalities across the country – and consumers as well.

At the January 7 meeting of the Public Works Commission, Highway Department Superintendent David Lapreay reported that the town had placed a order for more road salt. A pile of new salt was visible in the shed on Saturday afternoon. The hope is that this will be enough to get the Southington through the rest of the winter season.

Inside the Highway Department's salt shed: sand in the center, salt on the right.

Warming Shelters Open

Once temperatures drop low enough, Connecticut's Severe Cold Weather Protocol goes into effect, which leads to the opening of designated Warming Centers across the state. Each town has at least one center - a public building where people who need to stay warm can go to wait out the cold. Southington has three centers: the Police Station at 69 Lazy Lane, Calendar House at 388 Pleasant Street, and the Public Library, at 255 Main Street. The Police Station is open 24 hours a day, while Calendar House and the Library will reopen for use Monday morning at 8:30 and 9am, respectively.

Warming centers do not offer any extra services such as cots, snacks, or nurses on duty. However, people are welcome to linger in the spaces, no questions asked, as long as the space is open for business hours and the protocol is in place.

According to Librarian Shelley Holley, there are a number of individuals who regularly visit the Southington library whenever the cold becomes extreme. They take the opportunity to charge their phones and read a book. Generally, they just blend in with the other patrons.

Snow seen from the comfort of the Southington Public Library.

Food Service for Those in Need

For residents dealing with food insecurity, the prospect of being snowed in can be worrisome. Missy Cipriano, the director of Southington’s Bread for Life, says that her organization has done its best to ensure that every homebound client has received enough food for four days. Guests who normally take their meals at the building on Vermont Avenue are also given meals to last through the weekend.

Cipriano expects the kitchen at Bread for Life to keep its regular hours, noting that it has only closed once in the past nine years due to weather. If it does close, clients can reach out for assistance by calling (860) 276-8389.

Grocery Store Shelves Are Full

Although a few commenters on the Southington Talks Facebook group said that stores were “cleaned out,” there were plenty of eggs, bread, and milk for sale at Walmart and Stop and Shop on Saturday afternoon.

The dairy and egg sections at Stop and Shop.

Official Requests and Reminders

The police and other town departments have requested residents to take the following precautionary measures during the storm:

• Keep all trash and recycling bins out of the roadway.

• If possible, clear snow away from fire hydrants.

• Clear steps, walkways, and sidewalks.

• Check on neighbors and seniors.

Two reminders posted by the South Central Health District.